Ernest, Margrave of Austria

Ernest (German: Ernst, 1027 – 10 June 1075), known as Ernest the Brave (Ernst der Tapfere), was the Margrave of Austria from 1055 to his death in 1075. He was a member of the House of Babenberg.[1]

Ernest
Margrave of Austria
Ernest the Brave at the Battle of Langensalza, Babenberger Stammbaum, Klosterneuburg Monastery, 1489–1492
Margravate1055–1075
PredecessorAdalbert
SuccessorLeopold II
Born1027
Died10 June 1075
Noble familyBabenberg
SpouseAdelaide of Eilenburg
Swanhilde of Ungarnmark
Issue
Detail
Leopold II
FatherAdalbert
MotherFrozza Orseolo

Biography

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He was born to Margrave Adalbert of Austria and his wife Frozza Orseolo, daughter of Doge Otto Orseolo of Venice. He increased the territory of his margraviate by amalgamating the Bohemian and Hungarian frontier marches up to the Thaya, March and Leitha rivers in what is today Lower Austria. In his time, the colonisation of the remote Waldviertel region was begun by his ministeriales, the Kuenring knights.

Ernest received his epithet due to his fighting against King Béla I of Hungary and his son Géza I on behalf of their rival Solomon according to the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld. In the commencing Investiture Controversy, he sided with King Henry IV of Germany and battled against the Saxons, dying at the Battle of Langensalza.

Marriage and children

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In 1050 Ernest married Adelaide of Eilenburg (1030 – 26 January 1071), daughter of the Wettin margrave Dedi I of Lusatia, who gave him three children:

In 1072 he secondly married Swanhild, daughter of Count Sighard VII in the Hungarian March.

See also

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References

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Citations
  1. ^ Lingelbach 1913, p. 90.
Bibliography
  • Beller, Steven (2007). A Concise History of Austria. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521478861.
  • Brooke, Z. N. (1938). A History of Europe: From 911 to 1198. London: Methuen & Company Ltd. ISBN 978-1443740708.
  • Lechner, Karl (1976). Die Babenberger: Markgrafen und Herzoge von Österreich 976–1246. Vienna: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3205085089.
  • Leeper, Alexander W. (1941). History of Medieval Austria. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0404153472.
  • Lingelbach, William E. (1913). The History of Nations: Austria-Hungary. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company. ASIN B000L3E368.
  • Pohl, Walter (1995). Die Welt der Babenberger. Graz: Verlag Styria. ISBN 978-3222123344.
  • Rickett, Richard (1985). A Brief Survey of Austrian History. Vienna: Prachner. ISBN 978-3853670019.
  • Wegener, Wilhelm (1965). Genealogischen Tafeln zur mitteleuropäischen Geschichte. Vienna: Verlag Degener.
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Ernest, Margrave of Austria
Born: 1027 Died: 1075
Preceded by Margrave of Austria
1055–1075
Succeeded by